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Causes of appetite change

Due to physical weakness, tumor obstruction (compression of the gastrointestinal tract) or nerve compression (esophageal dysphagia), chemicals released by the tumors themselves at the advanced stages lead to deterioration of gastrointestinal digestive function, and deterioration of muscular functions in the mouth, tongue and esophagus, resulting in loss of appetite or dysphagia.

Care methods

• Food choices: try new foods, foods with a strong flavor or foods that the patient likes.
• Eat several small meals a day, and pay attention to the layout of the environment, such as fine tableware and appropriate dining places.
• Increase the consistency of food for easy swallowing, such as adding "Resource Thicken Up" to thick rice gruel or drinks.
• Make soft, melt-in-the-mouth and swallowable foods, such as steamed egg, pudding, jelly, milk, Ensure ice cubes, etc.
• Eat high-calorie foods to increase physical strength, such as ice cream, chocolate, cakes, egg tarts.
• It is common for patients to eat only one or two bites of painstakingly-prepared food. Due to the decrease of saliva secretion in the mouth, thickening of coating on the tongue and change of taste buds, their appetite is not good. Hence, you may accompany patients with care, but don't force them to eat.
• Loss of appetite is one of the signs of disease change, so how much you eat affects the life span to a lesser degree. Long-term bedridden patients need fewer calories than normal people, so they should feed the patients when feel hungry. Don't force them to eat when they are not hungry because forced eating can overload the gastrointestinal tract with poor digestive function, and food accumulating in the gut in large amounts will cause abdominal distension and vomiting.
• Whether an intravenous drip should be given when the patient loses appetite or eats less should be evaluated by professional medical staff. If a large amount of digestive fluid is vomited due to tumor compression on the intestine, resulting in electrolyte imbalance, an intravenous drip should be considered.
• When a condition arises when the patient is on his deathbed, it is not advised to add nutrition with an intravenous drip or nasogastric tube feeding, because at the end of his life, cardiopulmonary function will gradually decline, and giving extra water does not help absorb nutrients but increases the burden on the patient's heart and lungs. This is one of the normal and progressive signs of the disease. Keeping the lips moist is the most comfortable and attentive care for the patient.
• When eating, adopt a sitting posture at 60-90 degrees. Choking happens when you are coughing after swallowing or drinking liquid food. With dysphagia at the beginning, when you choke on something, it is easy to have aspiration pneumonia, with the symptoms including excessive phlegm, asthma, dyspnea, fever and other symptoms. You may relieve their symptoms by patting their back to dissipate and cough out phlegm. If you have a fever, you should contact medical staff to help you deal with it.